SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for stealing more than 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel from gas stations as part of an organized crimes across Texas, the Smith County District Attorney’s office said.
According to a release, Duniesky Gonzalez was sentenced for engaging in organized criminal activity. The DA said the charge stemmed from stealing diesel from gas stations across nine different counties in Texas by using fraudulent credit card information.
Gonzalez was arrested alongside Ramon Perez-Torres and Camila Cruz Concepcion who were also charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
According to arrest warrants, the ring obtained the gas by tampering with a device, called a pulser, which registers the rate at which diesel fuel is being pumped. Officials said that by tampering with the device they were able to convince the pump it was dispensing fuel at 1/20th the rate it actually was. This means they would pay for diesel at 1/20th the price.
Officials said that the ring would often use stolen debit and credit cards to activate the pump in the first place. The East Texas diesel theft ring reportedly acquired 9,312 gallons of diesel fuel in 2022.
The DA’s office thanked Texas Comptroller Investigator Mick Kimbrow and investigators with the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center for coordinating amongst 15 different law enforcement agencies.
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